Rajon Rondo‘s short stint in a Dallas Mavericks uniform was clearly tumultuous. Various spats with his coach Rick Carlisle eventually came to a head when he was shut down in the playoffs with a “back injury” after some strangely disinterested play against the Houston Rockets.
Now Rondo is reportedly receiving the repercussions of his uninspired play. According to The Dallas Morning News, the Mavs have elected against compensating Rondo for the two postseason games in which he appeared.
Multiple sources: Rajon Rondo did not receive a playoff share from the Dallas Mavericks.
— Eddie Sefko (@ESefko) April 29, 2015
That share comes up to about $14,924, an even split of the $208,940 the team received for competing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
It’s unclear if that’s even legal. The Mavs also cut Lamar Odom out of their playoff share back in 2012, but that situation was a little different. Odom didn’t play in the Mavs’ final nine regular season games and never even suited up for the team in the playoffs. In fact, Odom had been dismissed from the team entirely after a clash with owner Marc Cuban in April and was only on the roster for the possibility of a trade in the summer.
Rondo did play, though, and even if his injury wasn’t legitimate, has some argument for his 14 grand if he wants it. He technically “earned” it, even if his play was uninspired to the point that he was informally fired and referred to in the past tense – before the series was over.
The 29-year-old guard is heading into free agency this summer, and the Mavericks have essentially confirmed that he won’t be wearing their jersey again. It remains to be seen what the market for a malcontent who can’t hit free throws and hasn’t looked the same since knee surgery will be, but this certainly can’t help Rondo’s cause.
(Via Dallas Morning News)
